Kidnapped Pastor in Malaysia: Nearly 200 Days of Silence

Continue to pray for missing Pastor Raymond Koh, and his family in Malaysia. It’s been nearly 200 days of utter silence following the professionally executed abduction of the 62-year-old pastor and charity worker in broad daylight on Feb. 13.

Despite a police investigation, no leads have surfaced in the disappearance. In fact, Pastor Koh is now among a growing list of other social activists who have been reported missing since last November, including Joshua Hilmy and his wife Ruth (both believers), and Amri Che Mat, a Muslim suspected of spreading Shia Islam, which is banned by religious authorities.

Media news on the disappearances continues to circulate both locally and internationally, with the most recent piece featured by BBC Asia on Apr. 12. Sources have mentioned Pastor Raymond’s evangelistic activities to Malay Muslims, which is considered a crime in this Islamic country. “His alleged proselytism is not an excuse for kidnapping. If he did anything wrong, he should have the right as any citizen to trial,” says Pastor Raymond’s son, Jonathan, as quoted by the BBC.

Perhaps the most striking finding reported by the news agency was that in the absence of concrete information surrounding the vanishings, some people have begun to speculate that “the authorities may have had a hand in all this,” an example of what they call “forced disappearances—a term which usually refers to state-sponsored abductions.”

Our Father, who pursues us wherever we are, we are comforted to remember that while we do not know where Pastor Koh is, You do, and You will not let him go. All-knowing, all-powerful God, we pray Your sovereign oversite over the search and over the news media; protect his family and other believers from any repercussions as his Christian ministry is exposed publicly. Wash over his family with Your peace that surpasses all understanding. We pray this especially for his son Jonathan who has suffered greatly by this terrible incident. Use even what was meant for ill—to thwart the work Pastor Koh is doing for Christ’s Kingdom in Malaysia—to grow and strengthen Jonathan’s faith and to draw many even into saving faith. In the name of Jesus. “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him” (Col 1:16). Amen.